Olympics-Ice Hockey -Germany stun Canada to make first final

GANGNEUNG, South Korea, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Germany shocked defending men’s ice hockey champions Canada 4-3 on Friday, beating the Canadian men on Olympic ice for the first time to reach their first gold medal game.

The Germans relied on a scrappy defence and opportunistic offence to squeeze past a Canadian team who had looked on course for a third straight Olympic final appearance.

Germany also knocked out Sweden in the quarter-finals.

The win set up a gold medal game against the mighty Russians, who beat the Czech Republic 3-0 in Friday’s first semi-final.

It was a day of sporting ignominy for hockey-mad Canada, winners of the last two Olympic gold medals in men’s ice hockey.

The Canadian men’s curling team were earlier shut out of the Olympic medals for the first time. (Additional reporting by Simon Jennings, Editing by Ed Osmond)